Not when Kansas built a 17-point lead in the first half.
Not when the Jayhawks kept fending off all of their advances during of Tuesday’s Champions Classic.
And not when they were down 12 with a little less than 4 minutes to play.
But Tom Izzo’s team couldn’t complete the comeback in its season-opening game.
The 10th-ranked Spartans fought back within three points on a Kyle Ahrens 3-pointer with 34.6 seconds to play, but No. 1 Kansas held on for a 92-87 victory.
MSU showed there is plenty to work on in the coming weeks and months, also showing it may need to be a scrappy group plays with toughness all year.